By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

    Southern Maine Community College’s diverse student
body and the campus’s function as a place for foreign students to learn
and share their stories was on display during the school’s “Living in a
Multicultural World” presentation last Thursday.

    The presentation was the fourth out of five designed
to elicit conversation between international and multicultural students
and the public. SMCC has over 55 international students from 28
countries and over 400 students originally from other states and
countries. 

    Debra Andrews, Director of the Center for Global
Opportunities and moderator of the event, said that the difference
between an international student and a multicultural student is that an
international student is admitted into the U.S. on an F1 student
visa.   An F1 visa is required for students who plan to enter
the U.S. temporarily with the purpose of pursuing full-time studies at
a college, university, or other academic institution. Multicultural
students are permanent citizens of the U.S. The students may have
emigrated to the U.S. from another country or they may be the
descendents of a family that emigrated to the U.S.

    Multicultural and international students Ruth
Mugisha from Rwanda, Kate Zelinskaya from Kazakhstan, and Vaida
Labzintyte from Lithuania, cleared up misconceptions about their
countries, spoke about the challenges of attending school in the U.S.,
and the hope they have for their countries. Silviyo Olweny, a student
from Sudan, and Ismael Ahmed, a cultural skills trainer at Catholic
Charities, were also scheduled to appear, but were unable to attend.

    “These students all represent countries in transition,” said Andrews addressing the audience.

    Mugisha, a multicultural student and liberal studies
major, who came to Maine two years ago, said she thought most people
would know about the genocide that occurred in her country in 1994, but
people might not know that Rwanda is “a beautiful country and it has
good people and a good culture.” The genocide in 1994 resulted in the
deaths of an estimated 800,000 to one million people in 100 days.
Tensions between the Rwandan ethnic groups, the majority Hutus and the
minority Tutsis, culminated in mass killings of Tutsis and moderate
Hutus carried out by the military and a militia group, the
Interahamwe.  Mugisha said she came to Maine because she “wants to
be in a safe place.”

    Zelinskaya and Labzintyte, both Lodging and
Restaurant Management majors, said they thought Mainers would know
their countries were no longer part of the Soviet Union. When asked if
there was any lingering resentment towards the loss of Communism in
their countries, Labzintyte said her grandparents grew up in an
independent Lithuania and they were happy to see the country regain its
independence. When part of the Soviet Union, Labzintyte said families
would receive tickets for buying certain foods like flour and sugar and
then they would have to wait in long lines to get the items. Labzintyte
said independence changed the economy, in that “you can get whatever
you want, but now the problem is people don’t have any money.” She
said, however, she thought Lithuania’s entrance into the European Union
has helped her country.

    Zelinskaya said citizens of Kazakhstan gained more
personal freedom with independence. She said prior to gaining
independence a man could be sent to jail for owning a television
because the government assumed he had been starving his family in order
to get it. There is, however, still “a lot of corruption,” she said.
When asked what she would do if she were the president of her country,
Zelinskaya said she would combat the corruption by making sure the
“money from taxes goes in the right direction.”

    Labzintyte also said she would work to direct money
to health and education services. Labzintyte said, “I would be a very
strict president.”

    If she were president of Rwanda, Mugisha said she
would “try to make reconciliations and get the people to understand
each other.” When asked what she would do if she were president of the
U.S., Mugisha said she would “care more about other countries.” When
Rwanda had the genocide, everybody knew that, but nobody did anything,”
she said. As president, Mugisha said she would have acted as a
mediating force to diffuse the situation in Rwanda. 

    Zelinskaya and Labzintyte both agreed if they were
president of the U.S., they would change the health care system.
Labzintyte said, “People shouldn’t have to pay everything.”

    The women agreed one of the most difficult things
about studying in another country is that you don’t know the history of
the U.S. Zelinskaya said it was difficult to join discussions in the
classroom. Mugisha also said it was challenging to understand the
different points of view that result from cultural differences.
Language was also an obstacle and she said, “I thought I knew English,
but when I came here I couldn’t understand (it).”

    On the other hand, Mugisha and Labzintyte agreed
that Maine schools allow for greater freedom of expression. Mugisha
said, “In Rwanda, the teacher is like a dictator.”

    Labzintyte said students in Lithuania are afraid to
ask questions. Before asking the teacher a question, she said she would
go home and try to find the answer herself by reading more about the
subject.

    “I feel very comfortable here,” Labzintyte said. As
international students, she and Zelinskaya will be returning home after
graduating from SMCC.

    Reflecting on her future, Mugisha said she wants to
work in conflict resolution. “Maybe I will be a mediator,” she said.
When asked if she plans to return to Rwanda, Mugisha said she would go
back “sometime.”